Inaug.-diss.--Basel. / Cover title. Vita. "G. literatur": p. 156-162.

Inaug.-diss.--Basel. / Cover title. Vita. "G. literatur": p. 156-162.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Akron, Dept. of Biology, 2009. / "August, 2009." Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed 11/11/2009) Advisor, Stephen C. Weeks; Committee members, Peter Lavrentyev, Randall Mitchell; Department Chair, Monte Turner; Dean of the College, Chand Midha; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 2007.

The Devonian (419-359 million years ago) is the geological period when the terrestrial biota fully established. Early representatives from a terrestrial and continental aquatic biota have previously been reported from the Upper Devonian (Famennian) Strud quarry in Belgium, in the shape of seed-bearing plants and vertebrates (fish and early tetrapods). The palaeoenvironment is interpreted as a floodplain with slow accumulation of sediment in the river channels and adjacent shallow pools, subject to seasonal flooding and desiccation. This thesis presents the upper Famennian Strud ecosystem with representatives from the largest animal phylum – the Arthropoda. Pancrustaceans are dominating the arthropod assemblage by two eumalacostracans (previously described), three groups of branchiopods, and a putative insect, all collected in fine shales likely deposited in the shallow pools. The branchiopods from Strud comprise new members from all three extant clades, i.e. notostracans, anostracans, and spinicaudatan diplostracans. The notostracan Strudops goldenbergi is remarkable for its close resemblance with the extant genus Triops by the overall body plan and telson morphology. A phylogenetic analysis including modern and extinct notostracans and anostracans was performed, where Strudops appears as the earliest undisputed notostracan ever found. In addition, new genera of Anostraca (Haltinnaias serrata) and Spinicaudata (Gesvestheria pernegrei) are described herein. The insect Strudiella devonica consists of a single specimen and is interpreted to have been a nymph due to its minute size and wingless appearance. The chelicerates are represented by one or several species of eurypterids. So far unnamed juvenile eurypterid remains have also been found within the pool strata, and fragments of adult individuals in the coarser river deposits. The branchiopod community displays a unique insight to the ecosystem that these crustaceans inhabited. This is partly because of their co-occurrence, but mainly because they are preserved in close association to draught-resistant encysted eggs, in the same manner as modern day branchiopods do to survive and disperse during periods of drought and freezing. Altogether, the arthropod assemblage offers insight to Late Devonian freshwater ecosystems, and provides further understanding of the evolution of respective groups.

O objetivo do presente trabalho é analisar a influência de fatores ambientais na ocorrência e a distribuição espaço-temporal de cladóceros marinhos em uma região estuarina rasa localizada junto a uma área de manguezal. Ao longo do período de julho de 2004 a junho de 2005, foram realizadas amostragens do zooplâncton durante as marés enchentes de sizígia em duas estações de coletas localizadas na Praia Dura, município de Ubatuba, SP. As amostragens foram realizadas em triplicatas por meio de arrastos horizontais utilizando-se uma rede cônica com fluxômetro acoplado para se determinar o volume de água filtrada e, o zooplâncton amostrado foi imediatamente fixado em formol 4% neutralizado. Concomitantemente às amostragens foram tomados dados dos fatores ambientais temperatura, salinidade, oxigênio dissolvido (OD) e potencial hidrogeniônico (pH) da água. Foram observadas três espécies de cladóceros marinhos. A espécie Penilia avirostris foi a dominante e ocorreu ao longo de todo período amostral. As espécies Pseudevadne tergestina e Pleopis polyphemoides foram menos freqüentes, mas a última apresentou variação temporal sazonal ocorrendo nos meses de inverno e primavera. A ocorrência de P. polyphemoides correlacionou-se negativamente com o fator temperatura e positivamente com o fator oxigênio dissolvido. Tanto os fatores abióticos como as abundâncias das espécies não diferenciaram entre as estações de amostragens (Teste t; sempre p > 0,05). A Análise de Componentes principais revelou que as espécies P. avirostris, P. tergestina e P. polyphemoides formaram um agrupamento sendo que 60% da variância das espécies amostradas é explicada pelo fator oxigênio dissolvido. / The aim of the present study is to analyse the occurrence and the horizontal-temporal distribution of marine cladocerans in a shallow estuarine region associated to a mangrove forest, and to verify the possible influence of environmental factors on the temporal variation of the species. In the period from July 2004 to June 2005, zooplankton samples were taken during the flood tide of sizygia in two sampling stations located on Praia Dura estuary, Ubatuba city, SP. The samples were collected in triplicates through horizontal hauls using a planktonic conic net with a fluxometer attached to determine the filtered water volume and, the sampled zooplankton was immediately preserved with 4% neutral formaldehyde solution. Simultaneously with the sampling, temperature, salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen of the water were measured. In the laboratory, subsamples were taken from the original collected samples and the zooplankton were analised under a stereomicroscope. So, the marine cladocerans were identified at species level and quantified. The zooplankton abundance was expressed by individuals per cubic meter. Three marine cladocerans species were registered in the Praia Dura estuary. Penilia avirostris was the dominant species and appeared throughout of the year. Pseudevadne tergestina and Pleopis polyphemoides were the less frequent species, but this later showed a seasonal variation occurring in the spring and summer months. The occurrence of P. polyphemoides presented negative correlationship with the temperature and a positive correlationship with the dissolved oxygen. The abiotic factors and the species abundances didnt show any statistical difference between the sampling stations (always p > 0,05). The Component of principal Analysis presented that the species P. avirostris, P. tergestina and P. polyphemoides, had organized as an group, being 60% of the variance was explained by the dissolved oxygen.

[Truncated abstract] I have evaluated the effects of different types of ephemeral pools on the evolutionary dynamics of two large branchiopods in Australia, the clam shrimp Lynceus and the fairy shrimp Branchinella longirostris. Both shrimps are passive dispersers, relying on their sexually produced resting eggs for continuity of populations in time and space, although their actual dispersal ability remains speculative. The two currently recognised species of the genus Lynceus (L. tatei and L. macleyanus) are widespread across Australia, and they occupy a wide range of ephemeral fresh water habitats, while the fairy shrimp Branchinella longirostris is endemic to rock pools on granite outcrops in south-western Australia. Samples of populations were collected from a total of 96 ephemeral pools at 80 locations in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia . . . This highlighted the contrast between the two species and their microhabitats, and implied that these microhabitats offered different opportunities for dispersal. These were identified as frequent disturbances of the clam shrimp’s egg-banks due to ‘wash-out’ effects during heavy rains and animal and human vectors attracted by the water stored in the deep pools. My comparative study shows that the difference in evolutionary dynamics observed between the two species was a consequence of their environmental interactions rather than of the microhabitats themselves. Similar to patterns detected in other passive dispersers with disjunct population distribution, evolutionary dynamics in Lynceus and B. longirostris seem to be a result of complex interactions among gene flow, population histories and ecology of their habitat. The results contribute to the emerging evidence that branchiopod crustaceans are poor dispersers and highlight the importance of local context in determining evolutionary processes within species.

M.Sc. (Zoology) / Pans are endorheic wetlands, and are abundant in South Africa in a band from the western Free State into Mpumalanga. The pan environment experiences daily and seasonal fluctuations in physico-chemical conditions. The physico-chemical variables are influenced by the local climatological and hydrological conditions, and are all inter-related. An imbalance of one variable can have countless effects on the others. The physico-chemical composition of the water ultimately determines the existence of the biota in such wetlands. Branchiopod crustaceans are a unique group of fauna which have various morphological, physiological and behavioural adaptations which enable them to survive in these variable environments. One such adaptation is the production of dormant egg banks. These eggs reside within the sediment through the dry phase and hatch during a following wet phase when conditions are favourable. Due to the endorheic nature of pans they are more vulnerable to anthropogenic stress. Anthropogenic activities are having profound effects on the integrity of these ecosystems. Agricultural and mining activities have some of the largest influences. The impacts that the following activities have include: the over utilisation of water, decreased periods of inundation, erosion and sedimentation, effluent discharge and direct habitat destruction. Many wetlands as a result are experiencing a rapid loss in biodiversity. Mining activities are on the increase especially in the Highveld region of southern Africa. Many of these wetlands are already (and will be in the future) affected by mining activities, making the effect of acid mine drainage (AMD) on the biota a priority concern. In conjunction with the uniqueness and vulnerability of pan ecosystems it is necessary to find new ways of monitoring such environmental impacts in the shortest time possible with minimal efforts, for the benefit of both the environment and researchers involved. This study therefore aimed to assess the diversity of branchiopod crustaceans hatching from egg banks of selected pans and obtain a reference community structure. It also aimed to assess the impacts AMD could have on the hatching success of branchiopods from these egg banks with the objective to determine whether these egg banks are still viable after exposure. To achieve the stated aims and objectives, sediment samples were collected from selected pans in mining regions of the country. Regions selected included Chrissiesmeer in the Mpumalanga province, Wesselsbron in the Free State province and Delareyville in the North West province. The sediment was used for hatching experiments in the laboratory. Pan sediment was exposed to three different treatments which included two salt solutions (1000 mg/l and 1500 mg/l respectively) and AMD. The salt solutions served as controls while the AMD served as an exposure. The number of nauplii hatching was counted in the controls and compared to the number of nauplii hatching in the AMD. The diversity of nauplii was also assessed and compared between controls and the AMD. The recovery potential of eggs exposed to AMD was also assessed by exposing the sediment treated with AMD to distilled water after its removal to get a better understanding on the effects of AMD at the community level. Results from the control treatments indicated that most pans have a range of taxa hatching that follow patterns of pan succession. Between the 1000 mg/l and 1500 mg/l controls there was no treatment that proved superior to the other. Representatives of all four orders of branchiopoda hatched from the experiments. The North West and Free State pans were the most diverse and had had the greatest abundances of individuals hatching. Spatially all three provinces differed in the diversity of individuals hatching from pans, as there were distinct differences in the taxonomic compositions. Although taxonomic composition of pans grouped together per province, pans from just a single province were largely dissimilar. Results from the AMD treatments indicated that AMD has a negative effect on the hatching ability of branchiopod crustacean eggs. Eggs that were initially exposed to AMD were unable to hatch in its presence. The recovery experiments indicated that recovery after exposure is limited as recovery only occurred in a few pans. The taxonomic composition of nauplii in the pans where recovery took place was altered and less diverse than the taxonomic composition found in the respective control treatments. Overall it was found that hatching experiments can be used as a monitoring tool in lieu of field sampling. Hatching experiments showed that AMD is detrimental to the branchiopod egg banks, inhibiting the ability of eggs to hatch in its presence. Recovery can take place but the recovery potential is low. Since the recovery potential of the egg banks is low, pans which are affected by AMD could experience extinction of the entire branchiopod community in years to come. As branchiopod communities are unique among pans, and serve as an important food source for many aquatic bird species, their extinction will bring about further losses in biodiversity.

The number of California vernal pools and vernal lakes are diminishing. Through the present study, this investigator hopes to increase the understanding of vernal pool biota, as well as the awareness that these unique habitats need protection. Other studies of California vernal pools have emphasized their flora, their plankton and their physicochemical aspects. The purpose of this investigation is to survey the insects and other macrofauna found in two vernal lakes of eastern Stanislaus County, to examine the phenology of the insects within one of these lakes, and to compare the insect taxa found in these vernal lakes to those reported from studies of similar vernal pools.

No description available.